ANNAPOLIS, Md. – It was the closest of four quarterfinals in the Patriot League Championships, despite being a No. 10 vs. No. 2, but in the end American University men's basketball came up short in a 71-64 loss at Navy. The Eagles, led by four players who scored in double figures, had a hot start and an exciting finish.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Johnny O'Neil led American with his second double-double of the season, scoring 17 points and leading all players with 10 rebounds. O'Neil hit a trio of three-pointers early in the game, and went 5-of-7 from long range overall.
- Matt Rogers hit 5-of-10 from the field and a pair of free throws for 12 points, and Colin Smalls also shot 50 percent from the field and finished with 10 points.
- In the final game of his career, Stacy Beckton Jr. scored 10 points and grabbed seven boards. His first of two blocked shots in the game was the 100th of his career, and he finishes with 101 to rank sixth all-time.
- Leading AU in assists was once again Elijah Stephens with five, and he also scored eight points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After going 0-for-3 from behind the arc two nights ago, the Eagles found new life from long range early in this one.
- O'Neil hit his first three attempts from three-point range, and the team went 4-for-5 to surge ahead to a 16-7 lead at 14:21 of the opening half.
- The momentum then hit a standstill as Navy used a 14-0 run to pull ahead while the Eagles went scoreless for five and a half minutes.
- AU had another good stretch to come within a point at 25-24 after hitting 3-of-3 from the field, but the Eagles remained behind for the rest of the half.
- Beckton Jr. made it a three-point deficit in the final minute of the half, and that 33-30 score stood through the break.
- The first bucket of the second half was a trey for Beckton Jr. to tie the game at 33-33, but the Eagles were never able to take a lead.
- The Mids went up by 10 with 13 minutes left, and led by as many as 16 near the eight-minute mark with a long stretch of hot shooting.
- In the final two minutes, AU came alive from long range once again to make things interesting.
- Beckton Jr. hit a three to get AU within seven at 1:53, and O'Neil's fifth triple of the game put the Eagles within four, 68-64 with 30 seconds to go.
- Navy missed half its free throws, going 3-of-6 the rest of the way, but it was enough to seal the victory as AU did not score again.
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